Scope

The movement to permit voluntary prayer in public schools continues to arouse public debate. Opposition is based on the belief that prayer in public schools violates the principle of the separation of church and state, and that voluntary prayer cannot remain voluntary if students feel pressure to participate. The following is a guide to resources in College Library discussing the debate on prayer in public schools.

Overview

Religion in the Schools: A Reference Handbook
College Library Reference Collection: LC 111 J87 1998

Encyclopedia of American Education
College Library Reference Collection: LB 17 U54 2001
Refer to "Prayer in School"

The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions
College Library Reference Collection: KF 4548 O97 1999
Refer in index to "School Prayer"

The Religious Right: A Reference Handbook
College Library Main Collection: BR 526 U88 2001
Refer to "Prayer in Schools"

Intellectual Freedom: A Reference Handbook
College Library Reference Collection: KF 4770 Z9 H3 1992
Refer to "Prayer in Schools"

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center 1990 - to date (updated daily)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) includes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources and provides viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

religion and public school*
school* and prayer*
christian right and school prayer
church and state and separation

Recommended Databases:

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

Education Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 400 scholarly and trade periodicals and selected monographs in education, educational psychology, college life, teacher education and evaluation. Basic instructions for Education Full Text

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

More Databases:

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Humanities Full Text 1984 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 400 scholarly journals on archaeology, classical studies, art, film, folklore, history, journalism, linguistics, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy and religion. Basic instructions for Humanities Full Text

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Dates Vary (updated daily)
Contains the full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers (including the New York Times, June 1980 - to date), as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals. The truncation symbol is an exclamation point (!). Basic instructions for Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe

PsycINFO 1872 - to date (updated weekly)
Indexes 1,300 scholarly journals along with books and book chapters in psychology, educational psychology, and behavioral sciences. Basic instructions for PsycINFO

Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) 1972 - to date (updated quarterly)
Indexes journal articles, books, government documents, statistical compilations, committee reports, directories, serials, reports of public, intergovernmental and private organizations, and most other forms of printed literature from all over the world. The full-text of the articles is not available in the database. Basic instructions for PAIS

Readers' Guide Full Text and Retrospective 1890 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 240 popular magazines in a wide range of subject areas. Full-text coverage of 131 titles begins with 1994. Basic instructions for Readers' Guide Full Text

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on School Prayer can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

prayer and public school?
religion and public school?
church and public education
"religion in the public schools"

Internet Sites

Religion and Prayer in U.S. Public Schools
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ps_pray.htm
Information on both sides of the controversy from Religious Tolerance.

Religious Liberty
http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/
Information and links from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Freedom From Religion Foundation
http://www.ffrf.org
Organization with a mission to keep church and state separate and to educate the public about the views of nontheists.

Christian Coalition of America
http://www.cc.org
Organization founded by Pat Robertson to give Christians a voice in government.

Videos

God in the Classroom
College Library Main Collection: KF 4162 A45 G6 2000

Prayer in the Public Schools
College Library Main Collection: LC 111 P55 2005